The U.S. Olympic Committee’s pre-Games media summit set an attendance record last week, luring nearly 700 reporters to the famous Beverly Hilton hotel. While reporters gathered material for pre-Rio coverage, sponsors, agents and Olympic movement leaders gathered to talk business, prepare for Rio and promote the Los Angeles 2024 bid.
The poolside opening reception welcomed guests such as Coca-Cola Olympic marketing guru Dina Gerson, NBC Olympics Chief Marketing Officer John Miller and agent Sheryl Shade. Also spotted were Terrence Burns, the globe-trotting Olympic bid consultant from Teneo Sports who has been retained to help with the L.A. bid, and USOC board member Steve Mesler, who flew in from Calgary.
“It’s like the NFL’s Super Bowl Media Day, except it lasts three days and has better stories,” USOC External Affairs Chief Patrick Sandusky told the crowd after Brazilian samba dancers performed two numbers. “At least that’s my opinion.”
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L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti (left), with Carl Lewis and Casey Wasserman, dined with someone who'll vote on the 2024 site.
Photos by: GETTY IMAGES |
■ POLITICKING: After the opening reception’s hors d’oeuvres were taken away and a rare Southern California cold snap forced guests indoors, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti arrived at the Trader Vic’s bar, chatting with a group of reporters. But he didn’t linger. Garcetti headed to the restaurant, where he dined with International Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven — the only person in attendance who will actually cast a vote in the 2024 Olympic race.
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A 2,600-mile flight allowed Michael Phelps to make the event.
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■ PHELPS FLIES UNDER ARMOUR: Uber-Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps was a late addition to the summit, thanks to a favor from his longtime sponsor Under Armour (incidentally, a competitor to USOC sponsor Nike).
Long ago, Phelps had committed to Under Armour’s big Olympic showcase in his hometown of Baltimore for March 8, an event specifically scheduled around his training. Since he was in Orlando the prior weekend before heading to Baltimore and had to be back at Arizona State training on March 9, the only solution was a 2,600-mile flight following the Under Armour event so Phelps could make a brief appearance at the USOC summit that evening.
U.S. Olympic athletes generally fly commercial on sponsor United, but Under Armour paid for a private plane so Phelps could attend the USOC event.
Phelps and his entourage came straight from Baltimore to the Van Nuys airport, then drove to Pauley Pavilion for the press conference, keeping within 30 minutes of the original schedule. After answering questions for roughly half an hour, Phelps made his way back to the airport and ended his night in Tempe, Ariz.
■ GOOFING OFF, FOR SOCIAL MEDIA: A new feature this year was the “social lounge,” a long hotel hallway where Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, Twitter and YouTube reps talked Olympians into mugging for the camera for fun. Snapchat did live stories from the scene. Facebook did live Q&As with athletes, and five Vine stars with 12.7 million total followers posted short, goofy videos about the Road to Rio. In another corner, the Los Angeles 2024 bid recorded athletes playing a 1980s-era Nintendo track and field video game.
Some of the content was pushed out live, but expect to see it everywhere on social media later this summer.
■ ON-MESSAGE, OR NOT: Olympic sponsors sometimes have to take the good with the bad when it comes to signing first-timers to represent the brand. On Monday afternoon, two athletes demonstrated that range during rapid-fire exchanges with reporters.
In one corner, three-time world champion gymnast Simone Biles took a question about her sponsors. The reporter ran through her deals, and incorrectly mentioned Under Armour. “No, Nike!” Biles interjected forcefully, abandoning her wide smile for a split second before smoothly returning to her talking points.
On the other side of the room, rugby sevens player Carlin Isles listed his deals, mentioning Nike, Red Bull, California Almonds and Citi, also a USOC sponsor. A reporter asked him if he banked at Citi, and the talkative Isles reluctantly, sheepishly admitted he did not. But he indicated a willingness to change.
“Um, I don’t bank at Citi,” said Isles, who captivated reporters with his outgoing personality and tales of hardship while training without sponsors as a track athlete. “Wells Fargo. But I think I might bank at Citi.”
■ FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES: Casey Wasserman raised $35 million for the Los Angeles 2024 bid before most people knew he was even asking, and on Monday, he tapped into his network again. Prior to a Tuesday meeting, the USOC board of directors dined privately at Wally’s in Beverly Hills, where chef David Feau also happens to be the spouse of Wasserman’s personal assistant. … The Olympics group shared the iconic hotel with back-to-back red carpet formal events on Tuesday and Wednesday, meaning that casually dressed sportswriters and Olympians gave way each evening to formal wear and celebrity journalists. … In a sign of the changing media landscape, former Chicago Tribune Olympics journalist Philip Hersh was on site freelancing for the USOC’s internal content team after he took a buyout from the Tribune.
